Information for all prospective participants: The Summer Institute on Sexuality, Culture and Society is designed for participants with longstanding research or professional experience in the field of sexuality studies to connect with peers. In general, applicants should have considerable experience studying or working in the field of sexuality studies (and can demonstrate this in their supporting documents). All participants must have a Bachelors degree (minimum). The Summer Institiute is divided into two distinct blocks. Prospective attendees are welcome to apply for one of them, or both: please read the participant profiles for each module below to determine if you are eligible to apply. 

Block A - Practicing Sexuality Studies in a Changing World:

Level: Masters, early- stage PhD, working professionals, community advocate/activists. All applicants should have a received a minimum of 6 euopean credits in sexuality studies. 

Background: Student should have a solid understanding/background in sexuality studies, and should seek to enhance and apply this knowledge within a variety of settings.

Block B - Critical Reflections on Advanced Topics in Sexuality Studies: 

Level: Advanced Masters, PhD/Postdoctoral candidates and working professionals. All applicants should have a received a minimum of 6 euopean credits in sexuality studies. 

Background: Student should have a long-standing understanding/background in sexuality studies, and should seek to enhance and apply this knowledge within a variety of settings academically and/or professionally.

If you are unsure about your eligibility for this programme or have admissions related questions, please contact the Summer Programmes Office by emailing summer-info-gsss@uva.nl. 

In this two-week block, the focus is placed on building on the foundations of sexuality studies and contextualizing that knowledge within the participants’ own work.  Modules will explore the historical development of sexuality studies and provide participants with an opportunity to sharpen their theoretical skills in topics such as sexual politics and comprehensive sexuality education. This year's (tentative) Block A modules include:

Module 1: Sexuality, Culture, and Society: An Overview of the Field - Marie-Louise Janssen

Module 2: Sexual Politics in the Netherlands - Various Lecturers

Module 3: Comprehensive Sexuality Education - Doortje Braecken

Module 4: The Sex and Gender Wars - Paul Mepschen

In this two-week block, participants will approach advanced topics in sexuality studies from a critical academic perspective. We will bring a variety of evolving and current developments in sexuality studies into focus, both globally and in the Netherlands, including Consent and Ethics, Human Rights, and Sex Technologies.
 

Module 5: Rethinking Consent– Elsie Whittington

Module 6: Sexuality, Human Rights and Social Justice - Silke Heuman

Module 7: Sexuality and Religion - Safa Tamish, Janneke Stegeman, Saskia Pieterse and Brennan Kettelle

Module 8: "That feels good, do it again!”: Exploring Practices and Perspectives of Sexual Pleasure - Peter Miller

Dr. Marie-Louise Janssen is a Cultural Anthropologist and senior lecturer in gender and sexuality studies at the Department of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. She is one of the Academic Directors of the summerschool ‘Introduction to Sexuality Studies’, as well as a module coordinator in the ‘Summer Institute on Sexuality, Culture and Society’. Marie-Louise Janssen has published extensively on sex work, migration and human trafficking and lectures in the areas of gender and sexuality studies, migration and human trafficking and ethnographic research methods and techniques at the department of Sociology of the University of Amsterdam. Her current research interests include, among others, Chinese massage parlours in the Netherlands, student sex workers and currently sex work in the former Dutch colony of Curacao in the Caribbean region. 

During this programme, participants build on their existing knowledge of sexuality as it intertwines with issues of ethnicity, nationality, class, and religion, deepening their familiarity with how sexuality is conceptualized.

The open atmosphere and small scale of the classroom offers a unique setting for engagement and discussion of sexuality, culture and society. If you would like to broaden your knowledge with other professionals, graduate- and PhD-students, we invite you to apply through the link on the how to apply page!

Want to get to know more about studying in Amsterdam? Follow us on social media and join our summer community. Get a feel for our summer school vibe and our academic and social community, and learn about studying with us through the eyes of past summer school students. 

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Interested in hearing an alumni perspective? Read this interview with Stefan Lucke who attended the Summer Institute in 2011, and used his knowledge gained in Amsterdam to springboard into a PhD position, and undertaking important research. You can also read this alumni portrait with Farah Barakat, who joined the programme as an MSP Scholarship winner in 2018.